How to moderate your online course

The world of online education is growing at an astonishingly rapid pace, making it crucial for educators to stay at the forefront of developments. With so many different ways of working and possibilities available, it is hard to keep track of all possible online methods and how to use them to optimal effect.

We believe that e-moderators are part of the new generation of instructors, working online to guide the learner through all these new possibilities, creating a successful and great learning environment.

How to moderate your online course is an excellent course for anyone who wants to learn the skills needed to be a great e-moderator. During the course you will become familiar with various aspects of e-moderation, such as online socialization, e-moderating techniques (for example summarizing and weaving), how to support novices and how to promote active participation. This course will provide you with an introduction to the field of e-moderation, teach you the basic e-moderating skills, and give you guidance on how to keep developing yourself as an e-moderator. In addition, this is a hands-on course, meaning that after a short introduction on the theory, you will directly get the chance to apply your knowledge. During this course, we will challenge you to rise to the occasion and step into the shoes of the e-moderator yourself.

If you are interested in learning more about the educational principles underlying this course, your e-moderator will be happy to teach you more about these principles.

The flexibility of our course
We highly value the flexibility of our courses. This course is flexible in two ways. It’s flexible in both the content of the course, letting your choose your own learning mix, and flexible in when you’d like to spent your time on this course.

Flexibility: choosing your own learning mix
In order to meet your needs, you are free to choose your own learning mix.

Flexibility: no specific time and place
During this course, there is no requirement for attendance at a specific location at any stage of the course. The course discussion forums are open 24 hours per day, enabling you to access them whenever you wish during the course period. The course materials are also available 24/7. There are no fixed times for interaction; all communication will be asynchronous. However, during our course several group assignments do have strict deadlines. We also have a deadline at the start of every new week. So please bear in mind that you will need to set aside 3,5 hours per week for this course. It is though completely up to you (in consultation with your group members) when you spent these 3,5 hours during each week.

Please note: You may be eligible for a discount on this course if you aim to moderate an Elevate Health course. To confirm your eligibility for a discount, please contact us via info@elevatehealth.eu

Blended version
When you are following this course in preparation of moderating your own online course, we highly recommend the blended version of our course. In this blended version a coaching session is added to your learning mix. This coaching session is added at the end of the course. The blended version of the course costs 1125 euros. First you will follow the online part, and afterwards you will apply your knowledge in a coaching session. In this coaching session, you will sit down (if needed: virtually) with an experienced e-moderator to ‘walk-through’ the course you are going to moderate and distinguish any possible pitfalls or challenges that might occur. This is a great opportunity to put your knowledge to practice, finding out if there are any gaps, while receiving some extra personal advice.

Of course, if you choose the blended version of our course, a specific time and location for the coaching-session will be needed. Please note that this session will have to be scheduled during working hours. Of course we will take your preferences into account. Therefore, at the start of the course, this session will be scheduled in consultation with you.

Online version
The online version of our course is recommended when there isn’t a specific course yet in which you will be the e-moderator. You will follow the same online course, but won’t participate in the coaching session at the end of the course. This will help you develop yourself as an e-moderator, making you all set to go as soon as the possibility to moderate an online course arises. The fee for the online version of the course is 785 euros.

If you are interested in participating in the online version of the course, please use the following discount code during the enrollment process: 5959687CAC2E526

Please note that you are required to hand in assignments during some of the learning units (LU) in this course. At the end of each week there is a deadline that you will have to meet. You can find an overview below.

Week 0

Sunday before start – complete LU-0 and upload personal introduction

Week 1

Sunday – complete LU-1

Week 2

Friday – submit group assignment

Sunday – give peer-feedback on group assignment

Sunday – complete LU-2

Week 3

Sunday – submit group assignment

Sunday – complete LU-3

Week 4

Sunday – complete LU-4

Sunday – complete LU-1

Week 5

Sunday – submit individual assignment I

Sunday – submit individual assignment II

Sunday – complete LU-5

Completing all required assignments and meeting the deadlines are requirement to receive a course certificate.

To successfully complete this course on e-moderation, you need to participate actively in the discussion forums and complete the learning unit assignment before the set deadlines, including:

Contributing at least one substantive post to the discussion forum in each of the five learning units; as a matter of courtesy, you should also respond to any discussion topic started by your fellow students

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a certificate from Elevate Health. ‘How to moderate your Online Course’ is a recognized course for the ‘BKO’ and ‘SKO’ Dutch University teaching qualifications.